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The EU must recognise the forces that drove Brexit and reform accordingly, the billionaire frontrunner to become the next Czech prime minister says.

Andrej Babiš, leader of the “anti-establishment” ANO party, told The Daily Telegraph that the EU is chasing the wrong priorities as it eyes deeper integration.

“I’m not a Eurosceptic,” the Czech Republic’s second richest man said during a campaign stop in Nachod - a small town on the Polish border, ahead of elections on Oct 20-21.

“Europe is a great project,” stressed Mr Babiš in an interview following a 10-hour stint of handshakes and book signings. “But European politicians should seriously ask why the UK is leaving. They are dealing with the wrong issues in pursuing further integration.”

Pragmatic but unpredictable, Mr Babiš is often compared to Donald Trump due to his wealth, populist agenda, and Teflon-like ability to brush off financial scandals and coarse outbursts.

And like Mr Trump, his views on integration, immigration and Russia have left many in Europe eyeing his poll lead with nervousness. His political vision has won him considerable support amongst an electorate hugely disappointed that their standard of living still trails their German neighbours 13 years after accession to the EU, and spooked by the migrant crisis - even if only a dozen refugees have taken up residence in the country.

Those gripes have only been aggravated by efforts from Paris, Brussels and Berlin to push the project of EU integration forwards once the UK leaves the bloc, he warned.

Protestors take part in a satirical demonstration against Andrej Babis in Prague.Credit:
Michal Cizek/AFP

“We must institute reform to deal with the problems surrounding security, immigration and the four freedoms: the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour,” he said. Mr Babiš insists he won’t seek a Czexit if he becomes prime minister. But then, he doesn't have much choice.

Exports to the EU account for close to 70 percent of Czech GDP and cohesion funding, which amounts to about €15 billion under the EU’s 2014-20 budget, is another major contributor.

Just as important to Mr Babiš, claim critics, is that his agrochemicals giant Agrofert receives large EU subsidies and controls companies across the bloc. ANO, a centrist and populist party he founded in 2011, is running an election campaign centred on the billionaire’s simplistic promise to run the country like his business, the Czech Republic’s largest private employer.

It is also calling for the EU to close its borders and establish migrant camps overseas. Along with a pledge to destroy the “corrupt system” that has taken root in the Czech Republic since communism fell in 1989, those policies have helped him attract the support of about 30 per cent of the electorate, polls show. Most of those are older voters and from outside the urban centres.

But critics say Mr Babiš is an autocrat who will damage democracy and is in no position to campaign on an anti-corruption platform. Police recently laid fraud charges against him over a €2 million EU subsidy to a hotel development. Mainstream parties have said they won’t form a coalition under a prime minister facing criminal indictment, though it is unclear if they will stand by that commitment if he wins the election.

Andrej Babis at an election campaign in PragueCredit:
Martin Divisek/EPA

Polls show the ruling party struggling to keep up with ANO’s slick election campaign, despite moving to the right in an effort to outflank Mr Babiš on immigration. The CSSD practically forced the EU to impose an infringement procedure against the Czech Republic in summer, as it announced it would no longer take part in the bloc’s migrant quota scheme. The country has accepted just 12 of the 2,691 refugees it has been assigned.

Mr Babiš is ready to push even further, however, and has backed president Zeman’s controversial call to cooperate with Russia in addressing the migrant crisis. Those views have left many in Brussels eyeing his poll lead with apprehension. “I don’t care about Russia,” he erupts when asked about his views on the Kremlin.

“I’m a Czech politician. I care about Czech people. For them we must reform the EU and stop illegal immigration. We have these sanctions against Russia, but what is the result?”

The EU and Nato must make finding a solution a priority over extending a confrontation with Russia that shows little sign of resolution, he says. “Times have changed since Nato was formed,” he continues.

Mr Babis signs books for an ANO supporter during an election campaign rally in Prague.Credit:
David W Cerny/Reuters

“We have other enemies than Russia. We have to fight the human traffickers in the Mediterranean. Twenty thousand have died in that sea. We have terrorism blighting Europe. What are we waiting for?” Mr Babiš insisted that there are no genuine refugees arriving in Europe.

He also condemned the EU for pressuring the conservative and populist PiS government in neighbouring Poland over its democratic credentials while remaining largely silent on Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently overseen mass arrests, but abides by a 2016 deal to help stem the number of migrants arriving in Europe. That’s not realpolitik but “hypocrisy,” Mr Babiš said.

“I’ll tell [French president] Macron how to deal with illegal immigration and terrorism.” “We need to deal with Syria and Libya,” he continues. “We need a Marshall Plan for Syria, and for that we need to bring Trump, Putin and Erdoğan to the table. That’s the priority now. “Or we can continue to tell Putin he must leave Crimea, and then wait a hundred years.”